Chronic Absenteeism

The $60 Million Silent Crisis — and How SF Schools Are Already Fighting Back
Students can’t learn if they’re not in school.

“Nearly one in four SFUSD students is chronically absent. That costs us more than $60 million in lost funding and millions of hours of learning. The good news: some of our own schools are already proving we can turn it around.”
— Laurance Lee

The Reality in 2026

  • SFUSD chronic absenteeism: ~24% (Red on the California Dashboard)
  • State average: ~19.5–20%
  • Learning hours lost (2024-25): 4.4 million
  • State funding lost: over $60 million
  • Low-income students ≈ 33% | Students with disabilities ≈ 35%

When students miss 10% or more of the school year, reading and math gains stall, graduation risk rises, and the entire district loses resources that should be in classrooms.

Local Proof: Guadalupe Elementary Leading the Way

Guadalupe Elementary (Excelsior/Crocker-Amazon) is a high-needs, majority-Latino school with a large English Learner population.

After the pandemic, chronic absenteeism hit roughly 50%. Through strong principal leadership (Raj Sharma), consistent family outreach, targeted interventions, and activities that build belonging (including a thriving soccer program), the school drove major improvement. Rates fell sharply over two years and have remained better than the post-pandemic crisis peak — even as the district overall ticked upward. Math scores are also rising, and the school has posted impressive early literacy gains through high-impact tutoring.

This is exactly the kind of focused, relationship-driven work we need to scale.

Willie L. Brown Middle School — A Broader Turnaround Story

Willie Brown shows what strong leadership and a culture of belonging can achieve. Once one of the district’s most challenged schools, it is now fully enrolled with a waitlist. Test scores have risen dramatically (ELA 25% → 51%; math 8% → 33%) and student growth scores are strong. Attendance improved as part of the overall culture shift, though the principal has noted that the most chronically underperforming subgroups still need more targeted support. It stands as powerful proof that high expectations + belonging work in the southeast.

What California Bright Spots Teach Us

Districts such as Bakersfield (–33 points), Livingston, Cypress, Roseville, and Paradise cut chronic absenteeism sharply with real-time data, relationship-based outreach, home visits, removing barriers, and positive recognition.

My Plan

  1. Treat attendance as a core academic priority, not an afterthought.
  2. Protect and restore the staff who do early, personal outreach.
  3. Require every school to maintain a living, data-driven attendance plan.
  4. Aggressively scale what is working at Guadalupe and other bright-spot schools — belonging, family partnership, and high-interest activities.
  5. Publish simple public dashboards so families see progress school-by-school.
  6. Align budget decisions with reality: every day a student is present brings resources back to classrooms.

What Success Looks Like

Chronic absenteeism under 15% district-wide, with the biggest gains for the students who need it most. Tens of millions returned to schools. Kids who are present, connected, and learning.

Citations & Sources

About these deep dives
I have spent years writing about SFUSD budgets, facilities, and student outcomes in local media (Examiner, Beyond Chron, and others). These pages continue that work. They are researched and written by me, accelerated with AI tools, and reviewed by experienced educators. I believe voters deserve the full picture, the data, and a clear plan — not slogans.

Full Platform  |  My Record  |  Get the Lee Letter  |  Download Booklet  |  Volunteer  |  Donate

Contact me